Gioacchino Toma

Gioacchino Toma (24 January 1836 – 12 January 1891) was an Italian art instructor and painter, noted primarily for historic, realistic and genre subjects in a Romantic style. Toward the end of his life, Toma authored his autobiography, Memories of an Orphan (Ricordi di un Orfano, Giannini & Figli, 1886) relating a series of memories to his son, Gustavo: his difficult childhood; his tenacity; his desire for redemption; and his civil and political commitment. Together, Toma's experiences imbued his work with an overt melancholy – such that critics commonly described him as "il pittore del grigio", the painter of gray.